When Leroy May was searching for a way to honor his wife’s memory with a meaningful tribute, he did not have to look further than the parish hall at All Saints’ Church in Millington. Both Leroy and his wife, Delano, had been members of the congregation for many years. And since her retirement, Delano had played a very active role in the life of the parish.
“My wife had been a member of the vestry, served as warden, Altar Guild directress, fundraising chair, and in other roles,” he recalls. At her memorial service the Rev. Vicki McGrath observed that “In each of these ministries Delano gave herself, her humor, her compassion, her hard work and commitment, her good judgment and efficient organization, and her friendship. Part of her ministry in this parish was mentoring and nurturing a whole variety of clergy – a seminarian, a deacon, a hospital chaplain, the leader of an Episcopal religious community, the rector of the parish, and I can imagine Delano adding in her dry and whimsical way ‘and a partridge in a pear tree.’”
It was after her memorial service when Leroy and his son, Tom, were walking to their car that they remarked about the dire condition of the church parking lot. “The pot holes were so enormous that they could swallow a Volkswagen,” recalls Leroy. “That’s when Tom, a civil engineer, said, “Dad, this parking lot needs serious work, and serious work takes serious money.”
This led to offering a matching grant challenge to the parish. Leroy would match dollar-for-dollar money raised in a 60-day period up to $20,000. That fundraising effort during May and June yielded more than enough to meet the challenge. But somehow a parking lot repaving was not the memorial Leroy had in mind.
He next turned his attention to the parish hall. The All Saints’ parish hall serves as a meeting place, not only for church functions, but also for a variety of community activities, ranging from hosting meetings for Boy and Girl Scout troops and Alcoholics Anonymous (AA), to using the facility for polling places, tutoring centers, and yoga classes. But since the building was constructed in the late 1950’s, it currently does not meet today’s ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) standards, and therefore some parts are not accessible for those dependent on wheelchairs.
But not for long, as a new project – the construction of a new entrance hall which includes a wheelchair lift – is now underway, thanks to the generosity of Leroy and others. It will be a memorial to Delano from her family and friends.
According to Leroy, the ability to fund this memorial rests on diligent savings and careful investment during both his and Delano’s working years. “We were fortunate that our careers at IBM and AT&T paid well, permitting us to contribute heavily to our 401K and IRA programs.” He is now able to draw from those accounts in ways that benefit All Saints’, while at the same time minimizing taxes.
For specific tax regulations governing such bequests, such as donating appreciated stocks directly to the church or directing IRA distributions to a charitable organization, it is recommended that a financial professional be consulted. However, Leroy states that such donations can be arranged and implemented sooner than many individuals may have previously thought.
“We usually think of legacy gifts as bequests or trusts that take effect on death,” says Leroy. However, he emphatically believes that “you don’t have to wait that long. If you can make a gift during your lifetime, it can still be a legacy, and you can participate and enjoy seeing the impact this gift has – whether it is a parking lot or a parish hall.”
While this entry hall addition is a tangible and physical gift to All Saints’ Church, the real legacy was all those memories Delano left behind... and somewhere she is smiling.
